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Tuesday, March 26, 2013

A long absence

So I haven't posted in rather a long while.

Mostly because I graduated from my Master's program, got married, was busy working on research, crammed everything I owned into a remarkably small steel box, and then moved across the country with two cats. Did I mention I don't drive?

I do have an amazing wife, and some really stupendous friends, though. And so after driving 3600 kilometers and hauling all the possessions up three flights of stairs and into a remarkably small apartment, I am now in Seattle.

The first two quarters of my PhD have been strange, as I haven't really been working on anything other than classes. Before I left, I was a Teacher's Assistant and working on two or three research projects. It's been strange to not have so many responsibilities. However, had I had so many responsibilities to juggle after arriving here, my head would likely have caught on fire. Which is generally viewed as a bad thing to have happen.

It's strange being here, still. I can't identify most of the plants, and the winter was basically a long, mild autumn. Except it didn't rain nearly as hard as it does in Indiana in November. Now things here are exploding with flowers. It will take time to get used to the climate here. I have taken a few pictures here and there, and might post some up soon.

I have gotten myself involved here and there with the war on Ivy, which I may also post about in more detail. There's some (remarkably successful) groups in Seattle with very long term ecological vision. Restoring the temperate rainforest isn't a short term task, it turns out.

I'll try to follow this up soon with some posts about the city, some pictures, and my plans for the PhD.
I might also try to follow up a bit on the Fukushima issue, as a lot of data is surfacing, and it's always fun to attract angry comments.